Oishi - Japanese for tastes good. Here you'll find pictures of good food, where to get it, and occasionally a recipe.

Monday, December 13, 2010

Pho Viet - #3 Road - Richmond

This Saturday, I was at my other job and it was a full day so a boxed lunch was included. Not to sound disloyal or anything, but some of us decided to save our lunches and go out for some hot chow. Since time was limited, we needed something quick, but not quite fast food. The funny thing was, we probably spend more time in the car, fighting through traffic in the area than actually in the restaurant. The traffic around Empire Centre is an absolute nightmare.

Some of the crew wanted pho, and it was suggest we go to Pho Viet.

This particular location is new to me as it used to be another pho place called West Lake? It was kind of a mix of HK cafe/pho because they had combos that included a drink, starter, pho, and dessert.

Our bean sprouts came blanched, but I never use this stuff anyway - filler. Recently though, I discovered using the green stuff and a squirt of lime really enhances the flavour of the soup.

Salad Spring Roll. I tried this once at the location on Ackroyd and found the noodles inside were really dry...not sure if it's supposed to be like that, but it wasn't my cup of tea.

I like my spring rolls deep fried. Warning, they are tasty, but when they come, they're usually pretty damn hot and you should let them cool a bit before you bite into one.

Me, I usually get #1...I like rare beef, tripe, brisket. The rare beef cooks way too quick, so you gotta fish it out right away if you want it rare. Lately, I noticed the brisket is leaner than it used to be. That's a huge minus for me. Brisket is supposed to be fat...lean - no good. But the shop can't be blamed, people want to eat healthier nowadays and all these tree-hugging hippies out here on the West Coast are ruining everything.

A lot of people use the bottled chili sauce and that other brown stuff in their pho, not me. I just have it plain nowadays, or maybe with those green leafy things and a squirt of lime, but that's about it. I used to go to Pho Viet on Ackroyd alot, and I loved the chili sauce they had on the side (not the bottled stuff, the stuff that looked like XO Sauce and came in a jar). In fact, that was the sole reason I used to go to Pho Viet. I used to go through an entire container of the stuff and sometimes reach over the next table for another jar, but in the last few years, they changed the recipe, and it just doesn't taste the same anymore. It's less XO Sauce-like.

The food at this location is pretty much exactly the way I remembered when there was a location at Ackroyd. I still like the broth from Pho Cao Van bettter, but that's just me and I really have no idea what good pho is supposed to taste like. This new Pho Viet location is way cleaner than the place on Ackroyd, and larger as well. The price is always good, and the service was friendly enough. That being said, I'm not sure I'd go back often, seeing as how it's in one of the most traffic congested areas in Richmond.

4 comments:

lol well im glad you came and gave us a try. By the way did u know that u can park in the parkade for free it ha tons of space. I agree with u that i like my noodle plain also. As for the brisket i liek mine a bit on the leaner so does majority of my customers i notice if u give them something even remotely on the fatty side they will pick it out of the soup and not eat it at all

Yeah, I know about the parkade, it's getting there that's the problem! #3 road and Hazelbridge are probably the most congested roads in all of Richmond, and Empire Centre is right in the middle. It's probably not so bad early in the morning or late at night though.

You like your brisket lean? Arrrrgghhhh!!!! When I eat at home (which is most of the time), I generally eat pretty healthy, but when I go out, I like to spoil myself once in a while. Fat and salt are two things that make things taste good....not healthy, but tasty. But like I said, all these damn health nuts are ruining good eating places for everyone by being so picky. Eat healthy? Eat at home....go out to enjoy!

Anyway, thanks for reading, and I hope that if you see my face in there next time, have some fat brisket for me!

By the way, why did you change the recipe for your chili in oil? It was really good before.

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About Me

I was made in Canada around 30 years ago and had a relatively normal childhood. My parents are originally from China, but had to flee to Taiwan because Uncle Chiang and Uncle Mao didn't get along.
I've worked a variety of jobs including 5 years retail, 10 years with a major Canadian airline, about a year in manufacturing (wood products), and a few months as a freight forwarder. I currently have two jobs that I am very, very happy with.
My interests include running, mountain biking, weight training, reading, collecting man-crap, anime and manga, cars, firearms, and martial arts. I've dabbled in a variety of martial arts including Judo, Tae Kwon Do, mixed-martial arts fighting techniques (before it got the fancy name MMA), Wushu, and most recently, Iaido. I've studied Wushu for over 10 years (and still suck). For the last five years, I've been a student of Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu Iaido under Inoue Sensei. Iaido has become an obsession for me.
Also, for the last three years, I've been studying Sado or Chanoyu, the way of tea, commonly known as Japanese Tea Ceremony.